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Where Does True Creativity Come From?

Being truly creative is both as much a mystery as it is contradicting.

And if you’ve read my other post on the matter you’ll know that it is certainly not being found, nurtured, or resulting from the current education systems we have in place.

So where does it actually come from?

People who are creative may be so based on a pre-dispositioned personality type; however creativity can vastly change given things like environment, situations, and context.

Typically when a creative mind tries to consciously reaches into its very depths to yank out something creative — nothing appears. And it is usually when one least expects it when true creativity and ideas surface — seemingly out of nowhere.

You may know this as a “Eureka!” type moment. Just as the famous Greek scholar Archimedes yelled out after he stepped into a bathtub — only to find the bathwater had risen up as his body has sunk in.

Neuroscientist’s that study what causes true creativity are still in complete confusion regarding its true source. It’s not quite as simple as what typically we have thought; where simply left brained individuals tend to be logical; while right brained individuals tend to be the creative ones.

In fact studies are showing that it is much more complex than that. Creativity is manifested from a plethora of cognitive functions, neurotransmitters, and different areas from both sides of the brain.

However, psychology research on creativity has shown to shed at least some light of what could make someone more likely to be creative. For example a study that has produced some positive results in showing this was one done on motivation.

But this wasnt just motivation in general, but rather a specific type of motivation. You see these studies have shown that one is likely to be more creative when his motivations for doing so are out of personal passion for a selfless or intrinsic motive.
Alternatively the same study has shown that when one is trying to be creative in the hopes of becoming famous, rich, being greedy, or selfish — true creativity is much less likely to occur.

All in all it seems like we may never truly know for sure where creativity comes from. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep actively trying — or not trying — to be creative.

Remember to keep looking, keep listening, keep asking questions, and most of all let your intuition and passion due the talking.

And for more ways on how you can be creative, you can check out my article about unlocking your creativity. Which goes over some essential tips to better open and prep your mind for creative thoughts and ideas.

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